The Character I Play
by Ink Spotz
Summary: During a game of indoor football, James gets knocked out. When he comes around, he believes that he is on a show called, "Big Time Rush" and that his name is not James Diamond, but James Maslow. How will Kendall, Logan, and Carlos convince James that what he thinks is a show is actually his real life? Will it cause them to have their own identity problems in the process?
1. A Hit On The Head

Chapter 1

"James! Heads up!" shouted Carlos as he tossed a football at James.

Kendall cringed in horror as the football flew through apartment 2J. James lunged across the table to catch the flying ball, which upset every single dish on the table. The dishes crashed to the floor and shattered into a hundred pieces.

"Guys!" exclaimed Kendall. "We can't do this in the apartment! My Mom will freak out if we break everything!"

"Well, we certainly can't do it outside because it's raining," stated James, "And I _need_ to play football. It's my man calling and you always need to listen to those."

"Your man calling?" asked Kendall incredulously, rising an eyebrow in question. "What's a man calling?"

"A man calling is the urge to do something manly. You have to do what it urges you to do or you're not a man," declared James.

James tossed the football back to Carlos as Kendall winced once more.

"Just be careful..."

The football sailed through a vase on a nearby shelf before coming to a rest in Carlos's hands.

"...of my Mom's favorite vase," said Kendall, hanging his head.

Logan came into the room just then with his head buried in some kind of book.

"What are you reading Logan?" asked Kendall, trying to get his mind off of everything James and Carlos were breaking.

Logan brought his head up from the book and said, "It's called 'Getting Inside the Mind'. It's all about how the human brain works."

"Cool," said Kendall. "And what have you learned so far?"

"Logan! Kendall!" shouted James over his shoulder. "Drop the educational talk! Besides, I don't want to hear anything more about the brain for a long time. Swapping bodies is enough of getting inside someone's head for me, thank you very much!" James readied himself to catch Carlos's next toss. "Now, come play football with us and listen to your man calling!"

"Man calling?" asked Logan giving Kendall a look.

Kendall just shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes.

Carlos brought his arm back and got ready to throw the football to James. As he released the football, allowing it to fly through the air, it came crashing down, hitting James hard on the top of his head. James's eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he collapsed onto the floor.

"James!" screamed out Kendall and Logan in alarm, Logan throwing the book in his hands aside.

"And _that's_ why I wear a helmet," stated Carlos patting the helmet on the top of his head a couple of times as Kendall and Logan bent down next to the unconscious James.

"Carlos!" exclaimed Kendall. "Not helping!"

Kendall gripped James and tried to wake him up. Logan was beside Kendall saying, "James! Can you hear me?"

James emitted a small groan as he started to come around. Kendall sighed with relief and helped him to sit up as his eyelids slowly came open. James looked from Kendall to Logan to Carlos, who had walked over and joined the group.

"Sorry about the football to the head," said Carlos sheepishly.

"Football to the head?" asked James.

"Oh no," said Logan. "What if he has amnesia?"

"Don't be silly," said Kendall. "He can't possibly have amnesia! Can he?"

"The bump to his head _was_ pretty hard," commented Logan. "It's entirely possible."

"Well then, lets find out for sure," said Carlos.

Carlos immediately bent down and held up two fingers in front of James's eyes.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" asked Carlos.

James focused on Carlos's fingers for a second before groaning out, "Two."

"See! He doesn't have amnesia!" said Carlos satisfied.

"That doesn't disprove whether he has amnesia or not!" stated Logan irritated. Logan looked at James and asked, "Do you remember what your name is?"

"Yes," he moaned. "My name is James..."

"Phew," said Logan with a sigh of relief. "He doesn't have amnesia!"

"...James Maslow," he finished.

Logan, Kendall, and Carlos exchanged a look.

"Maybe I spoke too soon," said Logan.


	2. Broken

Chapter 2

"Who in the world is James Maslow?" blurted out Carlos in confusion.

"Come on Carlos," said James. "Stop joking."

"I'm not joking dude, said Carlos.

"You take your acting _really_ seriously," commented James. He grimaced in pain for a second before asking, "Would someone mind getting me some tylenol? My head hurts like crazy!"

"Okay James," said Logan. He turned to Carlos and said, "It's on the top shelf of the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Could you fetch it please? I have to examine James."

"I take it back. You _all_ take acting really seriously," said James. "I do too, don't get me wrong. But couldn't we take, like a five minute break so I can get my head to stop throbbing?"

"James, you're really scaring me man," said Kendall.

James turned to look at Kendall and said, "Come on Kendall. The joke is up. You can stop fooling around now."

"What do you think my full name is?" asked Kendall.

"Really Kendall? You're going to keep the joke up..." James took a deep breath and exhaled before he said, "Your name is Kendall Schmidt."

"Schmidt?" said Kendall. "How do you even spell that?"

"Kendall, be serious! Something has gone wrong in James's mind," said Logan, "And we have to figure out what it is."

James turned to look at Logan and said, "And I take it you think that your name is Logan Mitchell?"

"Yes," said Logan. "It is my actual name after all."

James let out a chuckle and said, "No it's not. Your name is Logan Henderson."

"James, stay still and stop talking please," instructed Logan, trying to ignore what James just said. "I need to look at your head to examine the extent of your injury."

"Logan, please drop the act, you're freaking me out now," said James. "It's like I woke up in some kind of 'Alice in Wonderland' gone wrong!"

Carlos emerged from the bathroom with some tylenol in his hands.

"Here Logan," said Carlos.

"Carlos Pena Jr., please drop the joke. I mean, this had to be your idea, right?" asked James an edge of panic now apparent in his voice.

"My name is Carlos Garcia," replied Carlos. "Not Carlos Pena. Isn't he a baseball player or something anyways?"

"Ok," said James looking wildly around the apartment. "Can we cut it out please? Joke's over ok?" James cleared his throat and said in a loud voice, "You can stop filming now!"

"James, take some of these pills. They will help your headache," said Logan.

Kendall propped up James's head as James allowed the pills to pass his lips. James swallowed the pills and laid back down.

"Carlos get him a glass of water please," said Logan.

"What do I look like? A servant?" asked Carlos walking off to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

"You're the one that caused this," said Logan. "The least you can do is get him a glass of water."

Logan started to probe James's head with his fingers. James winced as Logan struck a sore spot near the top of his head.

"Ah, I've found the source of the problem," said Logan.

"So, is there a way to fix it?" asked Kendall.

Logan let out a sigh, "Well, I'm not a certified doctor, but I say all we can do for him is help him heal. We have to surround him with familiar things in hopes of reverting his thoughts."

"Reverting my thoughts?" asked James looking at Logan strangely.

"Lets help James over to the couch and help him to lie down," said Logan.

Kendall and Logan got a bewildered James off the floor and helped him to lie down on the couch.

"I can't believe you guys think that I'm actually the character that I play," said James in awe.

"James has definitely lost it," said Kendall staring at his friend.

"I've got to go read more of that book," said Logan. "Maybe it'll tell us how to cure James."

Logan raced off to go back to reading the book to see if he could figure out a way to cure James. Kendall stayed standing in front of James on the couch who was still looking like he was honestly stunned.

"Carlos, are you almost done with the glass of water?" asked Kendall.

"Kendall," said Carlos slowly from the kitchen. "I think I broke the faucet!"

Kendall turned to see water flooding the kitchen cupboard, rushing down to puddle on the floor. Carlos was standing there with the handle to the faucet in his hands.

_"Great! Another broken thing my Mom will flip out about!"_ thought Kendall. Kendall looked back at James who laid on the couch, staring off into space. _"At least a faucet can be fixed. How do we fix you?"_


	3. Cut The Jokes

Chapter 3

Kendall was soaking wet now, but at least he had managed to get the water to stop flooding the kitchen. Kendall had also somehow managed to get James a glass of water. James was still lying on the couch in the same postiton as Kendall came back over to James.

"Here's some water James," said Kendall, setting the glass of water on a small table beside the couch.

"I don't want water," said James. "I'm not thirsty. What I want is a phone. Do you have a phone?"

"What for?" asked Kendall. "Who are you going to call?"

"My agent," replied James.

"Agent?" asked Carlos.

James shot Carlos a look and said, "Your joke is seriously getting tiring. I will think of a way to get revenge on all of you later. But I really need to call my agent first."

"Fine," said Kendall.

Kendall handed James the cell phone that was in his pocket. Grimacing, James sat up on the couch and started to dial a number on the phone. He placed it to his ear as it rang...and rang...and rang.

_"I'm sorry. Your call cannot be considered as dialed. Please check the number and try again..."_

"What the...?" said James as he hung up the phone and then dialed again.

_"I'm sorry. Your call cannot..."_

James slammed the phone shut in irritation.

"You guys did something to the cell phone reception in the studio, didn't you?" asked James.

"James," said Kendall slowly. "You need to accept the fact that this is real. This is not some kind of tv show like you think it is."

"Yes," said James. "Yes it is. You guys need to drop the act. It's not funny anymore."

"Eureka!" shouted Logan jumping up from the table just then. "I know what happened to James!"

"What?" asked Kendall and Carlos at the same time.

"When James got hit in the head, his other half appeared!"

"Come again?" said Kendall. "I'm still confused."

"Yea, speak in English please," added Carlos.

Logan took a deep breath and said, "Ok, to rephrase what I just said, James's mind has two different sides, kind of like a coin does. We are used to James Diamond, but when James got hit on the head, the coin flipped. Now he thinks that he is this other James, this James Maslow person, because that is his other half."

"You're still confusing me," said Kendall.

"I don't have this split personality thing going on!" declared James looking at the three of them as if they were insane.

"Oh," said Kendall slowly, "So _that's_ what Logan meant."

"Look," said James. "I really can't stay here with you guys. I need to figure out what is going on."

"No James, you can't leave," insisted Logan. "Not until you're cured."

"For the hundreth time, I'm fine! I don't need to be cured!" stated James. "Now if you'll excuse me..."

"James! No!"

Kendall lunged for James as he started to head toward the exit to apartment 2J. Kendall managed to wrap his arms around James and slow his progress toward the door. James fought against Kendall's grasp.

"Kendall! Let go!" shouted James, still trying to worm his way free.

"Carlos! Logan! Don't just stand there! Help me keep James from leaving the apartment!" shouted Kendall.

Carlos and Logan just stood as still as statues in their positons as they watched Kendall struggle to keep a hold of James.

"I think that you're doing pretty good all by yourself," stated Logan with a smile.

"Guys!" shouted Kendall. "_Really?!_"

Suddenly the door to apartment 2J opened. Mrs. Knight stepped through the front door with a bag of groceries on either hip. Katie stood behind her, staring in awe at Kendall and James who were still wrestling.

"I'm back!" she declared.

That was when she noticed James and Kendall. James screamed out one more time, "Let go!" This time as James shook out his arm, Kendall's grip loosened and he fell to the floor.

"What is going on here?" asked Mrs. Knight.

Her eyes roved around the apartment and landed on all the shattered items.

"Oh, are you guys in trouble," remarked Katie with a smile.

"WHAT happened here?" asked Mrs. Knight. She forcefully placed the groceries on a nearby counter and planted her hands on her hips. "Someone start talking NOW."

James looked at Mrs. Knight with a look of confusion.

"You're in on the joke too?" he remarked. "Really Challen?"

"Challen?" said Mrs. Knight rising her eyebrows. "Who's she?"

"Mom," said Kendall slowly as he got up from the floor. "We kinda need your help."

"What happened to James?" Mrs. Knight asked.

"He got hit on the head during indoor soccer and now he thinks that he is someone named James Maslow," blurted out Kendall in a rush.

Mrs. Knight looked over at James as he said, "Before you say anything, I swear I'm not the crazy one!" James pointed at Kendall, Logan, and Carlos. "They are!"

Before anyone else could see anything else, Lucy appeared. With a huge smile on her face, Lucy entered the apartment and bounded over to James, giving him a kiss on the lips. James pushed Lucy back and asked bewildered, "Why did you do that?"

"Because I'm your girlfriend silly," said Lucy.

"You're in on this joke too?" asked James. "Well whatever. Joke or not, I thought that we agreed that our relationship was strictly professional; that it was only for the purposes of the show."

"What?" asked Lucy hurt and anger registering itself on her face. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Yes," said James.

"Oh no," said Kendall as he watched what was unfolding in front of him. "This is _not _going to end well."


	4. Acting

Chapter 4

"You're saying that I'm _not _your girlfriend," said Lucy through gritted teeth.

"Yes...why are you getting closer to me?" asked James backing up until his back was against the counter.

"Because _James_ I think you need a little one on one time..." Lucy held up her right hand which she had balled into a fist. "...with this."

"Ah!" screached James in a high pitched tone, cringing.

"Lucy! No!" shouted Kendall. He reached out and held Lucy's fist firmly in his grasp.

"James is not well, Lucy. Please don't take anything he says seriously," said Kendall as Lucy turned to look at him in anger.

"Well, what's wrong with him then?" asked Lucy.

"What _isn't _wrong with him?" asked Carlos with a chuckle.

Kendall reached for an apple in one of the grocery bags that his mom had put down and threw it at Carlos, hitting him right in the chest.

"What Carlos was trying to say was that James got hit on the head with a football and now he thinks that he is someone named James Maslow," explained Kendall.

"James Maslow?" asked Lucy turning back around to face James. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"I'm not joking," said James, who was no longer cringing. "They are playing this joke on me. Me! What did I ever do to them? Huh? And you're in on it too, aren't you?"

"Oh my word," gasped Lucy in realization. "I'm dating a screwball."

"Lucy," said Kendall gently. "James isn't a screwball. He's just really confused right now is all."

"That's it!" exclaimed James throwing his hands up in the air. "I give up! I'm leaving!"

With that, James marched out of apartment 2J.

"We've got to go after him!" declared Kendall. "We can't let him out of our sight when he's like this!"

Kendall raced out the door and down the hallway screaming out, "James! Wait up!"

Lucy looked over at Logan and Carlos and said, "He got hit on the head?"

"Yep," they both said at the same time.

Lucy shook her head in disbelief.

"This is the second time that something has happened involving James's head. Maybe we should get him a helmet," muttered Lucy.

"That's exactly what I was saying!" exclaimed Carlos.

In irritation, Logan slammed his book shut and tucked it underneath his arm.

"I need to go talk to Camille," said Logan. "She's into acting. James's personality split is like some odd type of acting. Maybe she'll have an idea on how to fix James."

Logan left the apartment and went to go find Camille.

"Well," said Lucy looking down at her feet. "What should we be doing to help?"

"I don't know," said Carlos. "I'm hungry though. Want to grab a corn dog?"

"No thanks," said Lucy with a smile. "I'm good. I think I'll head back to my apartment now. If James comes around let me know."

"Gotcha!" said Carlos.

Slightly embarrassed about what had just occured, Lucy hung her head and walked out of the apartment.

"So," said Carlos as and Katie turned to face him. "I guess I'll be going now too."

"Alright, but if you see the boys, tell them that supper will be ready soon," said Mrs. Knight.

"Ok," said Carlos.

He was about to step outside the apartment when he heard a scream from behind him. Carlos slowly swiveled around and saw Mrs. Knight, now completely drenched by water from the broken facuet.

"What happened here? You broke the faucet too?" Mrs. Knight spluttered.

_"I guess duck tape can't fix everything like we thought," _thought Carlos as he said, "See you later Mrs. Knight!"

As Carlos ran out of the apartment, Katie came over to her soaking wet mother and asked, "Are boys always this strange?"

"Yes dear," said Mrs. Knight with a sigh. "Pretty much."

* * *

As Kendall stepped off the elevator and into the lobby, he caught sight of James who was slouched in one of the chairs in the lobby.

"Ok," said Kendall aloud to himself. "Maybe I 've got to try a different approach."

Kendall slowly walked toward James. When he stood in front of him, Kendall asked, "May I have a seat?"

James muttered an unintelligible response. Kendall just took that answer to mean yes. Kendall took a seat across from James and leaned toward him.

"Look James, I'm sorry. Maybe I should have tried a gentler approach with you."

James looked up into Kendall's eyes. James's eyes conveyed a mixture of anger and fear.

"Kendall dude, I have no idea what is going on and I have a nagging fear that you are all serious," said James. He hung his head and looked down at the floor.

"James," said Kendall. "You don't need to fear. Everything will be okay."

"Kendall how? I see the world differently than you do. This whole place," said James gesturing around the lobby, "I think is a set. I think that you are Kendall Schmidt. I think that my tv girlfriend isn't my girlfriend. Shall I go on and list more reasons why I should fear?"

"Ok," said Kendall. "So you may have to get used to some things for the time being, but we'll figure out a way to fix things James." Kendall reached forward and rested his hand on James's slumped shoulder, "I promise."

"Tell me then Kendall," said James. "What do I do until things go back to normal?"

Kendall pondered what James should do. He knew for certain that he couldn't have James walking around telling everyone that he was James Maslow and not James Diamond.

"Well, for the time being, you're going to have to pretend that you are James Diamond," said Kendall.

James smiled a small smile and said, "I guess I can do that. I _am _an actor."

"That's the spirit!" exclaimed Kendall.

Together they got up from the chairs and walked toward the elevator.

"You know Kendall," said James as Kendall pressed the up arrow outside the elevator. "Maybe this is what I needed. Maybe I needed some method acting."

"Maybe," muttered Kendall.

"I mean, I'm gonna wake up at some point and everything will go back to normal," said James.

"Yes," said Kendall.

"So this is what it feels like to live in James Diamond's shoes," sighed James, switching topics.

"Yep," said Kendall. _"Man does he get chatty when he's not wallowing in pity."_

The elevator doors dinged as it arrived. The doors slowly opened up and revealed the people inside.

"I mean, it can't be that hard to be James Diamond, can it?" asked James turning to look at Kendall as the people filed out of the elevator.

Kendall gave a small half smile and said, "Nope. Not in the least." while his mind was thinking, _"Boy, are you wrong there!"_

"Alright," said James. He switched into this fake yet somehow real James Diamond mode as they were about to step into the elevator. "Lets do this."

With a smile, Kendall admired the effort of his best friend.

* * *

**AN: (7/18/13) I don't know when I will get around to updating this story. I will work my best to get up a new chapter in the next couple of days. The two reasons why I may have trouble posting is that I'm currently suffering from writer's block with this story and I'm going to go see Big Time Rush in concert in the next couple of days. Don't worry though. Writer's block doesn't stop me for long and the Big Time Rush concert is just a 2 day thing. I just want to warn my loyal readers. I thank you for your patience! :) **


	5. Too Much To Handle

**AN: 7/28/13: Sorry it took me a while to upload the next chapter! I've just been busy and then I've had writer's block on top of that. I fought through it though. I hope that you still enjoy this chapter. Please let me know what you think! It'd be much appreciated! :)**

* * *

Chapter 5

"Camille open up!" cried Logan as he banged on the door, waiting for someone to open it up.

Camille suddenly opened the door and stared at Logan, bewildered.

"What on earth?..."

"Camille, I need your help with something," said Logan. "Please."

Camille smiled and said, "What is it you need help with Logan?"

"James," said Logan. "He thinks that he is someone else."

"Why? How?" Camille looked up and down the hallway. "I have too many questions. How about you come in for a second? My father is gone."

Camille lead Logan over to the couch and they took a seat.

"So explain," said Camille. "What's going on exactly?"

"Well," said Logan taking a deep breath, "James got hit on the head and now he thinks that he is this person named James Maslow."

"This seems like your area of expertise since it deals with the brain. What do you need my help for?"

"James is one hundred percent convinced that he is this other James. I thought, since you like acting, that maybe you'd be able to snap him out of it," said Logan.

"Keep talking," said Camille. "I still don't completely understand what you are getting at."

"What I am getting at is this," said Logan. "Could you please convince James to drop his act?"

"If he's suffering from some brain injury, I don't know how much that'll help out," said Camille. "But I'll try."

"You're the best!" exclaimed Logan.

He reached forward and gave her a kiss on the lips. When he broke away from their kiss he asked, "Want to come to dinner and meet the new James?"

* * *

Mrs. Knight sat the platter of chicken onto the table. She took a seat in the last vacant seat and looked around the table with a smile on her face. Kendall leaned back in his chair as if to relax, looking over at James to see that he was sitting as erect as a statue.

"Could you please pass the chicken?" asked James in a rehearsed manner.

"James," said Kendall looking over at him. "You can relax while you eat you know."

James looked over at Kendall and throwing his hands up in the air he said, "Don't tell me how to eat Kendall! I'm James Diamond! I eat like a man!"

Kendall slapped a hand on his forehead and groaned. James was taking his acting a little too far.

"What do you mean he thinks he's James Maslow?" whispered Camille into Logan's ear. "He just said he's James Diamond!"

Logan raised an eyebrow in puzzlement. He was confused too. Kendall saw the look that Logan had on his face and said, "He's just acting."

"Acting?" asked James looking at Kendall. "Are you insulting me?"

"James!" snapped Kendall. "Stop it!"

"What's to stop?" asked James.

"Stop acting!" screamed Kendall as he rose from the table.

"Kendall, where are your table manners?" asked Mrs. Knight shooting a look at Kendall.

"Agh!" exclaimed Kendall sliding back down into his seat, his face buried in his hands.

James let out a sigh and looked at Kendall, "Who were we kidding, Kendall? I'll never fit in here. I don't belong here."

James rose from the table and looking around said, "Thank you for the dinner, but I must be going."

"Where are you going James?" asked Kendall.

"I can't stay here anymore, Kendall. I'm going to go fix this," said James.

"How do you propose to do that?" asked Kendall.

Before James could explain, Kendall's cell went off. He picked it up and noticed that it was Gustavo.

"Hello?" said Kendall as he put the cell to his ear.

_"Kendall, get the dogs down to the studio right now. I know it's late, but we have to finish recording this track."_

"Sorry Gustavo, but we might have a problem," said Kendall.

James opened the door of apartment 2J and walked down the hallway.

_"What's the problem Kendall?"_

"Look, I can't talk now..." Kendall trailed off as he raced out the door after James.

James was nowhere to be seen in the hallway. Quickly Kendall raced down the stairs and to the lobby where he saw James getting ready to walk out of the Palm Woods.

_"Kendall, what's going..."_

"James!" shouted out Kendall as James turned around briefly to look at him. "Where are you going?"

"If you guys won't quit the act and I can't keep up my act, there is only one thing for me to do," said James.

_"Kendall..."_

"And what may that be?" asked Kendall, tuning out the irritated Gustavo.

"I quit," said James.


	6. Car Accident

Chapter 6

"You quit!" exclaimed Kendall.

_"James did WHAT?!"_

Kendall held the phone away from his ear; Gustavo's voice too loud to handle.

"I quit," repeated James. "I can't work under these conditions anymore."

"But James," said Kendall. "Please don't..."

"Enough," said James. "I'm sure there are other jobs out there for me."

_"Hawke can't have him, Kendall! Talk sense into your friend. What's wrong with him anyways?"_

"Gustavo, I'm going to have to call you back," stated Kendall, snapping his cell phone shut.

"Kendall, nothing you do or say can convince me to change my mind. I've had enough. I'm done."

The sound of the elevator dinging caused Kendall to turn around momentarily to see Logan and Camille exit the elevator. Logan nudged Camille to walk toward James. Camille walked toward James as he looked at her oddly.

"Hi James," she said. "How are you doing?"

"Ok?" asked James.

"Great, now Diamond, how about you tell me what you think you're doing?" asked Camille.

"I'm...I'm um...I'm quitting and you're acting strange," said James. "Stop it."

"I'm acting strange? Are you sure? Or are you the one that's acting strange?" asked Camille.

"Huh? See, this is another reason I quit," said James turning to Kendall. "You're all treating me weird. I'm through!"

Kendall's cell phone started to ring again. He knew without checking caller ID who the caller was.

"James, come on man..." said Kendall.

"Nothing you can say will sway me in a different direction Kendall," said James. "I've made my choice!"

Kendall's phone stopped ringing and he could hear the loud barking on the phone as Gustavo left a nasty voice mail.

"James..."

Before Kendall could say anything else, James turned and walked out of the Palm Woods.

"James!" yelled Kendall running after him.

James was halfway across the street before Kendall got him to stop.

"James, please listen to reason," said Kendall.

"No," said James stopping in the middle of the street to turn around and look at Kendall.

"James, listen to me," pleaded Kendall.

Neither of them noticed a car rushing down the street right toward James.

"No Kendall," said James. "I'm through. I really don't know how much more I can take."

Logan and Camille stepped outside to join Kendall at that time. They both noticed the fastly approaching car that the other two couldn't seem to.

"Kendall," said Logan. "Car!"

Kendall turned his gaze and looked at the car that was just a foot or two away from James.

"James!" shouted out Kendall. "Watch out for the car!"

"What car?" asked James.

By the time James turned and acknowledged the car's presence, Kendall knew it would be too late. Without giving it another thought, Kendall ran toward James and tackled him to the ground just as the car was about to hit him.

Kendall and James's world went black as they both hit the car and then laid unconcious on the pavement.


	7. Awakening

Chapter 7

Beep... Beep... Beep...

"They're dead aren't they?" asked a faraway, familiar voice, edged with grief.

James's eyelids fluttered with a burst of movement.

"James is alive!" shouted out another familiar voice.

James could feel himself being shaken. He wished the person would stop because every part of his body hurt.

"Uh..." James groaned.

"James, please open your eyes," pleaded a familiar voice that James was finally able to place as Carlos's.

"Carlos..." murmered James as he slowly opened his eyes. "What happened?"

"You and Kendall got hit by a car," said Logan.

James squinted from the bright flourscent light overhead. Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he noticed that Jo was sitting next to Mrs. Knight and Katie on some of the hospital chairs in the corner of the room.

"Wait," said James slowly letting his eyes rove around the room. "If we both got hit by a car, where is Kendall?"

"Kendall...um...well...Kendall..." stammered Carlos looking down at the tiled floor instead of at James.

"Where is Kendall?" asked James once more, grimacing in pain as he tried to adjust himself on the bed.

"He got hit the hardest by the car since he tried to push you out of the way..." started Logan.

"Answer my question," said James, knowing that in the pit of his stomach it was bad news.

"Kendall's in surgery," said Logan. "They aren't sure whether he is going to make it."

James closed his eyes in horror. That was what he feared had happened. How could everything have gone so wrong?

"James," said Carlos. "Do you remember who you are?"

James opened his eyes and asked, "Isn't it the doctors place to test whether or not I have something wrong with my brain?"

"Carlos," said Logan. "James is right. Besides, now is not the time or place to see whether or not he still thinks he is James Maslow. We have to worry about Kendall."

"Wait, who's James Maslow?" asked James. "I'm James Diamond! How could you forget that?"

"James! You're back!" shouted Carlos. He raced toward the hospital bed to hug him, but pulled up short. It was a bittersweet moment.

"At least James is ok," said Logan. "I wish we could say the same for Kendall."

"I know one thing that we can do for Kendall right now," said James moaning as he propped himself up in the bed.

"What's that?" asked Logan turning to look at James with tears in his eyes.

"We can pray," said James.

That seemed to calm everyone in the room down. Mrs. Knight, Katie, and Jo stopped their weeping momentarily and all closed their eyes and bowed their heads. Logan and Carlos stood next to each other and did the same thing. James closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This was all his fault. Even though every part of his body throbbed with pain, he started his prayer.

"Dear Heavenly Father, please watch over Kendall as he goes through surgery. Please guide the doctors's hands and help them to heal Kendall. We know that you are all powerful and in control and we thank you for that. We rest assured on the fact that you are taking care of the situation even if we may feel like it's hopeless. Thank you for always being there for us. Amen."

With the prayer now spoken, everyone opened their eyes with a sense of calm. Although Kendall was in a life or death surgery at the moment, they all knew that it was in God's control and that everything would turn out the way it was suppose to.

* * *

"James watch out!"

Kendall threw himself at James, smashing into James and causing them to both hit the pavement. Kendall could feel the bumper of the car hit his body and it immediately made him numb with pain. Kendall blacked out as he saw the driver screech to a halt and get out as Logan and Camille ran over.

Kendall could feel someone shaking him awake. He slowly cracked open his eyes to stare into Logan's face.

"Dude, wake up! You were having a bad dream!"

Kendall looked up at Logan.

"What were you dreaming about Kendall?" asked Logan.

"I dreamt I got hit by a car," said Kendall.

"What?" laughed Logan. "Really? Why were you in the street in the path of a car?"

"I was trying to save James," groaned Kendall as he sat up on the small couch he was resting on. "He thought he was James Maslow."

"Kendall," said Logan. "Are you still asleep or something? He is James Maslow!"

"Wait, what?" asked Kendall shaking his head in confusion. "What do you mean? He's James Diamond!"

"Let me guess," said Logan, "You think that you are Kendall Knight?"

"Yes," said Kendall giving Logan a look that read "isn't that obvious"?

Logan clutched his stomach and released a laugh.

"Boy Kendall! You never let up on the jokes do you? This is great! Wait til Carlos and James hear this!"

"Wait!" said Kendall. "You mean James is here?"

"Yes Kendall," said Logan. "You're in your dressing room on the Big Time Rush set right now. James is just down the hall."

Now Kendall realized that he wasn't in his bedroom. He was in some kind of room that was bedazzled with bright lights and posters. Kendall sprang off the couch and ran for the door. What kind of dream was he experiencing?

He ran right into a crowd of surprised set workers. They all stared at him strangely as the papers that they once had held in their hands flew through the air.

"Sorry!" apologized Kendall. "Do you know where I can find James?"

"Maslow is in the dressing room right now," said one of the set workers as they tried to collect the scattered papers.

"Thanks a bunch!" shouted Kendall as he ran off in search of the dressing room.

It didn't take Kendall very long to find the dressing room where James was. Without knocking, Kendall threw open the door and entered the room. James was sitting in a chair in front of a mirror reading a magazine while a lady stood behind him fixing his hair. At the sound of the door being thrown open, James looked up from his magazine and into the mirror to see that Kendall had appeared.

"Kendall!" said James. "How are you buddy? You ready to shoot the next scene in a couple of minutes?"

"James," said Kendall. "Can we talk for a minute?"

"Sure," said James. "Talk away."

"In private," said Kendall nodding his head toward the lady still fixing James's hair.

"Alice, could you give us a moment please?" asked James.

The woman smiled a sweet smile at James and said, "Certainly. I'll give you two a minute."

She left the dressing room and shut the door behind her. James swiveled in his chair and throwing the magazine onto the dressing table asked, "What's up Kendall? What did you want to talk about?"

"What's your name?" asked Kendall.

James raised one of his eyebrows in confusion.

"My name?" asked James. "Why?"

"Just please tell me what you think your name is," said Kendall. "Please."

"My name is James David Maslow," said James. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"No," sighed Kendall, hanging his head.

James rose from his seat and walked over to Kendall. He placed his arm around Kendall's shoulder and led him over to the couch. They both sat down on it.

"What did you want to hear me say?" asked James.

"I wanted to hear you say that you are James Diamond," said Kendall in despair.

"That's just the character I play," said James.

"No it's not," said Kendall.

"What..."

"I'm not the Kendall that you think I am. I'm Kendall Knight," said Kendall looking James straight in the eyes.

"Kendall..." said James slowly. "Are you alright?"

"No! Clearly not!" snapped Kendall.

"How about you explain to me what happened?" suggested James. "Maybe then we can figure out what's going on."

"Earlier today, you and Carlos were fooling around with a football in apartment 2J. You got hit on the head and woke up thinking that you were someone named James Maslow. I've been trying to convince you that you are James Diamond all day. You got so angry that you decided to quit and ran out of the Palm Woods. I stopped you on the street to confront you once more when a car started coming toward you. I dove at you in an attempt to save you when the car hit us both. I woke up on a couch where Logan was trying to tell me that I was just dreaming and that I wasn't really Kendall Knight."

James sat still, trying to process all of what Kendall just said.

"Well," said James taking a deep breath. "That sure is one wild story."

"It's not a story!" exclaimed Kendall. "It's the truth!"

"So, just to clarify, you think I'm James Diamond?" asked James. "And you think that you are Kendall Knight?"

"Yes," said Kendall. "Do you believe me?"

James stared at Kendall intently for a moment before saying, "Yes. I do."

Kendall released a sigh of relief. At least James believed him.

"I believe that you believe that I'm James Diamond and you are Kendall Knight," added James.

"Oh," said Kendall. "I see."

"Kendall buddy, I don't know how to put this. You aren't at the Palm Woods anymore. You are in California on a studio lot," said James.

He got up from the couch and walked over to the dressing table. He leafed through the papers on it before finding what he was looking for. He found it and threw it at Kendall.

"What's this?" asked Kendall leafing through the paper booklet.

"That is the script that we have to memorize," said James. "That's where our characters live. Somehow you escaped those pages."

Kendall leafed through the pages in confusion.

"Wait, what are you implying?" asked Kendall.

"You aren't in your world anymore Kendall," said James. "The world you knew is right there in your hands."

Kendall stared at the script in disbelief. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Kendall," said James. "I don't think you're in Kansas anymore."

* * *

A doctor entered the hospital room. His sudden presence made everyone worry.

"How's Kendall?" asked Mrs. Knight, wringing her hands in worry.

The doctor bent his head down before looking Mrs. Knight in the eyes.

"I have good news and bad news," started the doctor.

"What's the good news?" asked Mrs. Knight.

"The good news is that Kendall made it through surgery," said the doctor.

"Oh thank heavens," said Mrs. Knight. "What's the bad news?"

"The bad news is that, as of right now, Kendall is in a coma," said the doctor, "And we aren't sure if he'll ever wake from it."


	8. No Progress

Chapter 8

"What am I suppose to be doing again?" whispered Kendall in James's ear as the stage hands walked about, preparing the set.

"All you have to do is go sit on the couch and say, 'I've had one crazy day! How much more am I expected to handle?'" said James. "I'll be right there if you need me. I promise."

"Ok," said Kendall, "This is still weird for me."

"It'll take some getting used to I know, but you will eventually," assured James.

"Ok," said Kendall once more.

"Quiet on the set! Boys take your positions!" yelled the director who was running around the set with a megaphone to his mouth.

"Alright Kendall," said James leading him over to the couch. "Here it goes. It'll be ok."

Kendall sat down on the couch and tried to calm his nerves. He rubbed his sweaty palms on his legs in an effort to calm down.

"Alright! Quiet on the set!" shouted the director as he took a seat in the director's seat.

Kendall watched as a boom operator dangled a microphone over his head and the cameras got into position.

A man ran into the scene from the side with a clapper board.

"Scene 5, Take 1," said the man as he clapped the clapper board shut and disappeared again.

"ACTION!" shouted the director.

Kendall stared at the camera in shock for a second, not used to staring into a lens.

"Kendall, what's wrong sweetie?" asked Mrs. Knight as she stepped into the scene and took a seat on the couch next to him.

She draped her arm around his shoulder in a comforting gesture. Kendall forgot the camera for a second and thought that he was back home. He thought that she was his real mom not his actress mom.

"Mom, I don't know what's going on. I'm so confused," said Kendall.

"CUT!" screamed the director into his megaphone.

The cameras bent down at an angle as they stopped filming momentarily and the boom operator placed the mic down to rest his arms.

"Kendall," said the director getting up and walking over to him. "Please stick to the script. No ad-libbing."

Kendall raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Ad-libbing? I'm just being myself," he said.

"That's great Kendall, but right now you can't be Kendall Schmidt; you have to be Kendall Knight," said the director.

"But I _am_..."

"...really tired," interjected James as he popped onto the scene. "Kendall's is just really tired." James reached down and grabbed Kendall by the arm, yanking him up off the couch. "Can we take five?"

"But we just started!" exclaimed the director. "And we have a deadline!"

"Don't worry. We'll get it filmed in time," assured James. "I just need to talk to Kendall for a moment."

Without another word, James ran off with Kendall. He ran down a couple of hallways with Kendall before stopping behind a backdrop.

"Kendall," said James. "You have to pretend that you are Kendall Schmidt!"

"I thought the producer said that I just had to pretend to be Kendall Knight," said Kendall. "But how can I pretend to be who I actually am?"

"What?" asked James looking at Kendall confused.

"I want to go back home James. This," said Kendall gesturing around him, "Is not home."

"I understand," said James. "I really do. This isn't my home either. This stage is just my temporary home, but I have to pretend it's home when the cameras are on. You have to make the best of the situation you are given."

"You're right James," said Kendall taking a deep breath. "I mean, this isn't that bad. It could be worse."

"Yea," said James. "You could be in a coma from that car accident you mentioned earlier."

"Yea," agreed Kendall. "That would _definitely_ be worse!"

* * *

"Can I see him at least?" asked James. "I'm perfectly capable of seeing him in a wheelchair!"

"James," said the doctor letting out a long drawn out sigh as he finished taking James's blood pressure. "I already told you that you hurt your back bone in that accident and if I try to move you into a wheelchair, you run the risk of injuring your back further and becoming paralyzed."

James let out a sigh of frustration.

"Then why can't you wheel my bed into the same room as Kendall?" asked James. "Can't I at least be near him?"

"James no," stated the doctor, marking off James's evaluation on a clipboard hanging off the end of the hospital bed.

James stared up at the white tiles on the ceiling until the doctor left the room, too frustrated to even look at him anymore. All he had wanted to do since Kendall came out of surgery in a coma two days ago was to go see him. It was so hard for James not to be able to.

Logan and Carlos entered James's hospital room just then. James eagerly propped himself up in bed, wanting to hear news about Kendall. His sudden burst of movement caused pain to shoot down his spine.

"How's Kendall?" asked James trying not to wince in pain.

"He's still the same as yesterday," sighed Logan. "There's no progress yet."

"We'll just keep praying," said James confidently. "There is power in prayer."

James laid his head back on the pillow as Logan and Carlos sank into the hard hospital chairs. All James wanted was for Kendall to come back home.

If James had only known how far away from home Kendall really was.


	9. A Sign

Chapter 9

"I've had a crazy day! How much more am I expected to handle?" asked Kendall in a slow, measured voice.

"CUT!" screeched the director burying his head in his hands in discouragement.

"He's mad," said Carlos. "Way to go Kendall."

"For the hundreth time...this has literally been the hundreth time hasn't it?" asked the director asking the person who was in charge of the clapper board.

"Yes," he said.

"So for the hundreth time, say the lines natuarlly! Don't say them like a robot!" shouted the director at Kendall.

"Yes, but you want me to act like Kendall Knight and he would not say that line," said Kendall. "That line makes him sound like a whiner."

"Ok then, what do you think Kendall would say when his three best friends tell him that Gustavo is threatening to create another boy band and replace you?" asked the director.

Kendall took a deep breath and stood up off the couch.

"He would tell them to not give up; that they had to push through it and fight for what they believe in. He would tell them to never give up on their dreams and to persevere even if matters looked tough. He would say that they would be able to conquer anything as long as they stuck together," said Kendall. "That's what Kendal Knight would say in this situation."

The director had his jaw dropped in shock. It took him a minute before he had the ability to speak again.

"Alright, say that in the scene then," said the director. "It actually _does _sound better."

James gave Kendall a small smile as they reset the scene. Kendall took a big sigh. He had to listen to his own advice. He had to keep persevering even if it looked like he would never go home. He would get home someday.

"Quiet on the set," said the director as he leaned back in his chair and called action.

At least that's what Kendall hoped.

* * *

"Logan! Carlos! Wake up!" hissed James as he watched his two friends sleeping in the hospital chairs.

Logan was the first one to rouse from his sleep. He looked over at James and asked as he was rubbing the sleep away, "What do you need James?"

"I need you and Carlos to help me see Kendall," said James. "Maybe I'll be able to wake him up."

"You'll be able to wake him up from a coma?" asked Logan incredously. "Maybe the car crash _did_ do some damage to your brain."

"Look please don't argue with me," said James.

"You sure you want to do this?" asked Logan. "You heard what the doctor said. You could become paralyzed."

"What happened to Kendall is all my fault," said James, "And if that is the consequence for my actions then so be it."

"Alright," said Logan. "If that's what you want."

Logan went out into the hallway and got a wheelchair. He wheeled it back into the room and over to James's bed, helping James into the wheelchair.

"How is Carlos still sleeping?" asked James with a laugh, trying to distract himself from the pain in his back as he adjusted to sitting in the wheelchair.

"Beats me," said Logan. "Carlos can seem to sleep through anything."

Logan wheeled James out of his room after looking both ways to make sure the hallway was clear. Logan quickly pushed James down the hall to where Kendall was being kept. He opened the door and pushed James inside. Luckily the room was empty except for Kendall who laid on the bed. Mrs. Knight, Katie, and Jo must have gone to get something to eat. Logan wheeled James over to Kendall's bedside and James just stared at him.

"I'm so sorry Kendall," said James, tears choking him. "It's all my fault that you are in this coma. Please wake up."

James looked away from Kendall for a second at the heart monitor that stood beside the bed, beeping rhythmically. James looked back down at Kendall, tears slipping out of his eyes.

"Kendall please," said James. "If you can hear me, give me some kind of sign."

Suddenly a long beep could be heard from Kendall's heart monitor. James brought his head back up and looked at it. Instead of having the wavy lines, this time there was just one long flat line.

"Oh no," said Logan.

"That's not the sign I wanted," said James with dread.


	10. The End?

Chapter 10

"Kendall are you okay? You look really pale," commented James as they finished filming the scene.

Kendall clutched his head. Everything around him seemed to be spinning. He felt extremely dizzy.

"I don't feel well," said Kendall as he fell backward onto the couch that he had just risen from.

"Get help!" screamed James as he rushed over to Kendall's side.

Kendall closed his eyes as the dizziness started to make him feel nauseous.

"Kendall, stay with me," said James. "It'll be ok."

Kendall opened his eyes and looked up at James's worried face.

"Yea it will James," said Kendall. "Yea it will."

"Where's the doctor?" asked James turning around to scream at the remaining crew again who was staring at the spectacle. "He needs help!"

"James," said Kendall. "It's ok. It's time for me to go home."

"No," said James. "I'm not going to let you die."

Kendall cracked a small grin.

"No James. I didn't mean I was going to die. I meant it's time for me to go back to where I came from. It's time for me to go back to the world within the pages of the script," said Kendall.

"Do you have to leave?" asked James. "You're a really cool friend."

"I'm not really leaving. You'll find me in those pages," said Kendall. "I'm not lost forever. James, I just want you to remember to always be nobody but yourself. Embrace the character that you play in life. "

"Ok," said James.

Kendall closed his eyes again and allowed the dizzing darkness to claim him.

* * *

The monitor attached to Kendall still released a long beep. Logan rushed over to the door and threw it open, screaming for a doctor and leaving James by the bed. Tears were running down James's face. He gripped Kendall's hand tightly.

"Kendall, don't be dead. I'm sorry," gasped James.

He laid his head down by Kendall's arm and allowed the tears to flow even more freely. James suddenly felt the presence of a hand on his shoulder.

"It's ok James. There is no need to be sorry."

James brought his head up and saw Kendall staring at him with a smile on his face.

"Kendall! You're alive!" shouted James in joy.

"Yes James," said Kendall. "I am."

Logan turned back around and saw that Kendall was alive.

"Oh my word! Kendall!" shouted Logan. "You're awake!"

James immediately bent his head and thanked God for listening to his prayers and for answering them. Everything happened in such a rush after that. The doctors ran into the room along with Mrs. Knight, Katie, Jo, and Carlos. When they saw that Kendall was awake, Mrs. Knight, Katie, and Jo threw themselves on him, tears of joy falling from their eyes. The doctors couldn't believe that Kendall was okay. They thought it was a miracle. James just sat there in his wheelchair and studied the scene. He could only manage to think one thought throughout the whole chaos.

Never play indoor football or bad things will happen.

* * *

**AN: Well, this wraps up "The Character I Play". I hope that you all enjoyed it! I thank all of the readers for reading this. Thank you to those who have followed this or have favorite this. Your support has kept me motivated to see this story through! I especially appreciate all of the reviews! I love them more than you'll ever know! My next Big Time Rush fan fic will hopefully be up soon so please look for it if you are interested in reading more. :) Thanks again! You all rock...BIG TIME! :)**

**8/8/13: I've received requests that people would like to see this story continue. As requested, I will continue this story. I am open to ideas about where you would like to see this story go. I have some ideas of my own, but I would like to also hear from all of you. Please PM me with your ideas. Keep your eyes peeled for a continuation. I might add a couple more chapters or so to this story or write a sequel. Anyway, can't wait to hear from you! **


	11. Side Effect

**AN: When I ended this story, I had a lot of requests to continue it. So I did. I hope that you guys enjoy it. Please leave reviews if you would like to see me continue on with Chapter 12. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 11

James could not believe that things were finally back to normal. At least as normal as they could be. James looked down at the foot that he had propped up on the footstool. The white cast he had on it was covered in black marker by all of the people that wanted to sign it. James didn't know it at the time since he was in a hospital bed, but he had broken his right foot when he had gotten hit by the car as well as cause injury to his spine. Once in a while James would suffer from a fiery pain in his spine, but otherwise he was okay. It would just take a little time for him to recover. At least that's what the doctors claimed. That meant that James was out of commission along with Kendall for a couple of weeks. That made Gustavo wildly upset, but what didn't?

Kendall on the other hand was a little worse off than James was. Kendall had smacked his head pretty hard when he had gotten hit by the car. He was suffering from frequent blackouts and recurring nightmares of the crash. There were numerous nights where Kendall would scream himself awake and James would be lying in his bed across the room from him, unable to stand up and comfort him. The doctors assured them that Kendall would be fine. The nightmares and blackouts were just side effects they claimed.

James let out a sigh. The two of them were alone in the apartment for the time being. Katie and Mrs. Knight had gone grocery shopping and Carlos and Logan were enduring Gustavo's rage right now at Rocque Records. James reached for the remote and turned the televeision on, starting to scroll through the channels. Kendall was having a nap in his bed right now. James was hoping that Kendall would recuperate pretty fast. He still felt guilt gnawing at him. If Kendall didn't recover, James would feel guilty for the rest of his life.

As James picked a television show to watch, he heard footsteps. He craned his neck to peer behind him and saw Kendall walking into the kitchen.

"How are you doing?" asked James.

"Fine..." grumbled Kendall trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

Kendall walked toward the exit to apartment 2J.

"Where do you think you're going Kendall?" asked James.

"I'm going to my trailer to get a drink," said Kendall.

"Your tailer?" asked James, fear clutching his throat.

"Yea," said Kendall. "My trailer. You know I always hang there when we aren't filming."

_"Oh no..." _thought James as he stretched to try to reach the phone on the coffee table. He had to call the doctor.

"You do?" asked James.

Kendall rolled his crystal clear green eyes.

"Oh James," said Kendall. "I think you need to go take a break or something. The stress of acting is finally getting to you."

By this point James had managed to dial the doctor's number with shaking fingers. He held the ringing phone to his ear, waiting for someone to pick up. Kendall saw James clutching the phone to his ear and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm making a call," said James.

He heard a click on the other end of the phone line followed by a hello.

"Hi! This is James Diamond. Could you please send Dr. Fitz here as soon as possible?" asked James.

By this time Kendall had wandered over to where James was and noticed the cast on his foot.

"What's with the cast?" asked Kendall pointing at the cast. "Did you hurt yourself while you were filming?"

"What's the problem James?" asked the person on the other end of the phone line.

"Just please send him. It's an emergency. I think Kendall has a problem," said James before hanging up the phone. She had the message. Dr. Fitz should be on his way.

"Seriously James, what happened to your foot?"

"You don't remember?" asked James. "I got hit by a car and so did you."

"I did?" asked Kendall as he reached up to scratch his head, ruffling his dirty blond locks.

"Yes," said James. "Yes you did Kendall _Knight_."

"Ha," said Kendall. "I think that you got hit a bit harder than I did James Maslow. I'm Kendall Schmidt, remember?"

_"Crap..." _thought James. _"I thought this was all over with."_

James had to think of someway to keep Kendall in the apartment until Dr. Fitz arrived. But how was he going to be able to do that?

"You're right," said James. "I think that I did."

He released a fake laugh in order to make Kendall believe that he believed that he was James Maslow.

Kendall laughed too. He threw himself down onto the couch next to James and released a sigh.

"Ah James. You always were fun to be around."

Kendall turned his neck sideways so that he was facing James. He locked eyes with James as James grappled for stalling tactics. As James tried to think of one, Kendall started to yawn.

"You tired Kendall?" asked James. "Go ahead and take a nap if you want. I'll wake you up once we start filming again."

"That'd be great," said Kendall. "Guess I'm too lazy to make it back to my trailer. This couch is comforter than I thought."

With that Kendall closed his eyes and fell back into the land of dreams. James released a sigh and looked up at the ceiling. How could this nightmare not be over with yet? How was that even possible?

Fifteen minutes later a knock sounded at the door of apartment 2J. James had been trying to quietly watch television that whole time so he wouldn't awake Kendall, but it was useless trying to watch television when you were worried about your best friend.

"Come in," said James in a loud whisper.

The door to the apartment opened and in stepped Dr. Fitz. His greasy black hair was lying flat on the top of his head, glimmering under the lights in the apartment. His gray eyes frantically searched James's eyes as he asked, "What's wrong with Kendall?"

"He woke up from his nap and stated that he was Kendall Schmidt," said James.

Dr. Fitz hurried over to Kendall and looked at his sleeping form.

"How long has he been sleeping?" asked Dr. Fitz.

"About fifteen minutes or so," said James.

Dr. Fitz reached out a hand and laid it on Kendall's shoulder.

"Kendall, wake up," commanded Dr. Fitz as he shook him.

Kendall mumbled as he started to awaken. When his eyelids finally did flutter open, he looked at Dr. Fitz in confusion.

"Do you know who I am?" asked Dr. Fitz.

James held his breath as he awaited Kendall's response.

"Yes," said Kendall. "You're Dr. Fitz. What are you doing here?"

"I'm just checking up on you Kendall," said Dr. Fitz. "What's your name?"

"Kendall Knight," said Kendall looking at Dr. Fitz strangely.

Dr. Fitz looked over at James in horror.

"Before he went to sleep are you sure that he said that he was Kendall Schmidt?" asked Dr. Fitz.

"Yes. One hundred percent sure," insisted James.

"That only leads to one conclusion," said Dr. Fitz. "I really didn't think Kendall would suffer from a side effect like this..."

"Like what?" asked James. "What's wrong with him?"

"Kendall is suffering from multiple personality disorder."


	12. The Hypnotist

Chapter 12

"Isn't there anything that you can do for him?" asked Mrs. Knight desperately.

Dr. Fitz hung his head. James knew from the talk he'd been listening to for the past half hour that the answer was not one that Mrs. Knight would like. James shifted his gaze away from Mrs. Knight. He couldn't bear to see her face crumple in pain again. It was all his fault that Kendall was suffering from this condition. The trauma to his head had been too much.

James looked over at Logan and Carlos who were both hanging their heads. Logan's stubby black spikes of hair were decorated with specks of glistening sweat. Carlos's hair was probably the same but he had it covered by his helmet. They had run straight from Rocque Records back to the apartment once they had found out that something had happened to Kendall. They would always drop what they were doing in a heartbeat for their friend.

"The only thing I can do for Kendall at this point is to recommend that you take him to a mental institution," said Dr. Fitz. "He'd eventually recover there even though it might take several years."

"What?" gasped Mrs. Knight. "I can't have my boy away from me for that long!"

James could hear the hiccup in Mrs. Knight's voice. He knew that any second she would start crying her eyes out. James now focused on the closed bedroom door a little ways away. He knew that Kendall was sedated on the other side. At least Kendall was at peace for the time being. His life was about to become very chaotic.

"Jennifer..."

"I don't want to hear about any solution that makes me have to lock my boy away for years in a place where he will recover alone and scared," said Mrs. Knight cutting off Dr. Fitz. "There has to be another alternative! There is always more than one way to solve a problem!"

"Mom, maybe we have to face reality and do what Dr. Fitz suggests," piped up Katie who, until that moment, had been sitting quietly beside her mother, staring off into space.

James looked at Katie and smiled. She was always the rational one. She had her milky brown hair pulled back into two even braids which exposed her whole face. James could see the worry etched all over her face yet he knew Katie. He knew that she was brave and would do what was needed to make her big brother better. She loved him.

Mrs. Knight turned to look at Katie, silent tears slipping from the corners of her eyes. She quickly reached up to brush them away with the back of her hand before saying to Katie, "Oh Katie...maybe you're right."

"Well," started Dr. Fitz as he nervously fidgeted in the chair, "There _is_ one other method that we could try. But I'm warning you that it will more than likely not work."

"What is it?" asked Mrs. Knight immediately whipping her head around to look at Dr. Fitz, eager for him to continue.

"People who suffer from Multiple Personality Disorder sometimes go see a hypnotist. Sometimes while they are in a hypnotized state, the hypnotist can get in touch with each of the person's identites. The hypnotist would be able to attempt a cure," said Dr. Fitz. "But it more than likely won't work like I said."

It wouldn't matter if he had added that last line or not, Mrs. Knight was sold on the idea.

* * *

Logan, Carlos, James, Katie, Mrs. Knight, and Dr. Fitz all sat on the faded orange couch in the living room as they watched Kendall sitting in a chair in front of them. He was looking up at the ceiling in boredom at the moment. The chair across from Kendall where the hynotist was suppose to be was currently vacant.

"Mom, why do I have to do this again?" asked Kendall.

"It's because you're sick sweetie," said Mrs. Knight in a sugary voice.

She was talking to Kendall as though he was a five year old. James noted the smirk that appeared on Kendall's face. He knew it would appear there. He knew Kendall Knight well. At least he was Kendall Knight right now. Hopefully the hypnotist would be able to cure him of his Kendall Schmidt side.

"Where is he?" asked Logan looking over at Dr. Fitz. The waiting was an agony for all of them.

Dr. Fitz rolled up the sleeve on his coat and glanced at his watch.

"He should be here any moment," he said.

As if on cue, the door to apartment 2J flew open and in walked the hypnotist. The hypnotist came across as the mad scientist type. He had whitest gray hair on the top of his head that stuck up in spikes. His eyes were almost so pale a blue that they were gray. His eyes were looking around the room, not seeming to be able to focus on one area in particular. He was clothed in swamp green and mustard yellow checked pants and a salmon pink dress shirt covered by a gray sweater vest. He clutched a ratty brown bag tightly to his chest.

"Are you sure that guy is certified?" whispered Mrs. Knight in worry to Dr. Fitz.

"Of course...At least he was when I last met him six months ago..." whispered Dr. Fitz.

"A lot can happen in six months," whispered Logan in Carlos's ear.

That caused a smile to appear on Carlos's face. A smile that had been missing ever since they learned the truth about Kendall.

"Mr. Simmons! I'm so glad that you could come on such a short notice!" exclaimed Dr. Fitz with an over amount of enthusiasm in his voice as he rose from the couch.

At the mention of his name, Mr. Simmons eyes flicked over to Dr. Fitz as he replied, "Of course. Couldn't deny a patient a cure."

Mr. Simmons eyes flicked to Kendall who was staring at him; his crystal green eyes shining with trepidation.

"Ah! Is this the patient?" asked Mr. Simmons.

Without waiting for a response, Mr. Simmons walked over to Kendall and took a seat in the chair across from him; the seat that was intended for him. Mr. Simmons placed his brown bag down on the ground beside the chair and leaned forward on his elbows, studying Kendall.

"Yes, this is your patient," said Dr. Fitz as he came over to stand beside Kendall. Dr. Fitz gripped Kendall gently by the shoulders. "Mr. Simmons this is -"

"Ah! Stop right there!" said Mr. Simmons holding up a finger to hush Dr. Fitz. "I'll let the hypnosis help me figure out his name."

"I think this guy needs the mental hospital more than Kendall does," whispered Carlos aloud to Katie, Logan, and James.

James smiled. It had been a while since Carlos had cracked a joke.

"Now," said Dr. Simmons as he opened his brown bag and dug out a golden watch on a chain. "My methods may seem primitive, but they work. I want you to focus your eyes on this watch as I swing it back and forth. Do not take your eyes off it."

"Okay," said Kendall taking a deep breath.

He turned to look at all his supporters. They all smiled back at him, trying to tell him it would all be okay. Kendall turned back around and focused on the watch that Mr. Simmons was starting to swing.

"Tick tock. Tick tock. You are getting very sleepy. You are filled with the desire to fall asleep. Tick tock. Tick tock. Just close your eyes and fade into the land of sleep."

Kendall's eyelids began to grow heavier and soon they slid shut. James knew he shouldn't have watched the watch, but he had and now he was feeling sleepy too. He looked over at Logan and Carlos, seeing that they too were already asleep. Katie was the only one awake and she was trying to shake them awake with no success.

James's eyes snapped shut.

"Now when you hear me snap my fingers, you will wake up and be your alternate self. I need to talk to him for a minute."

Mr. Simmons snapped his fingers.

James's eyes opened. He looked down at the cast on his foot in confusion. He had gotten hurt during filming? How?

James looked over at Logan and Carlos. Carlos had reached up and taken the helmet off the top of his head.

"What am I still wearing this sweaty thing for?" asked Carlos as he felt the top of his sweaty head in disgust.

"I don't know. Maybe we just got done filming," stated Logan. "I can't seem to remember anything."

Mr. Simmons, Mrs. Knight, and Dr. Fitz didn't notice the change in James, Logan, and Carlos because they were too focused on Kendall. But Katie noticed.

"Guys, cut it out," said Katie.

Logan looked at Katie and said, "Ah Ciara! Our young star in the making! You are so funny sometimes."

"Now tell me your name," instructed Mr. Simmons as he temporarily stopped swinging the watch.

"My name is Kendall Schmidt," he said. "And who are you?"

"I'm Dr. Simmons," he said pointing at himself.

Kendall surveyed him, outfit and all. He raised an eyebrow in question as he asked, "What part are you supposed to be playing?"

"I'm the hypnotist," he said. "Now Kendall can you tell me where you think you are right now?"

"Are we rolling?" asked Kendall looking around the room for cameras. "Am I suppose to be playing my part right now?"

"You think this is a set?" asked Mr. Simmons.

Kendall locked eyes with Mr. Simmons once more and said, "Yes, it is a set."

"Who is the loony?" asked Logan suddenly as he rose from his seat on the couch. "I mean, who hired this one?"

Mrs. Knight and Dr. Fitz looked at Logan in concern.

"Logan..."

"I gotta go find Alexa," said Carlos as he rose from his seat. "She hasn't called in a while and I want to make sure she is okay."

"Who's Alexa, Carlos?" asked Mrs. Knight.

"Alexa Vega? My girlfriend?" That still did not make anything clearer for her. "Don't worry Challen. I just gotta go call her. I'll be back in a min."

"And I have to go let Fox out and make sure he doesn't use my trailer as a toilet again," said James. "Where are my crutches?"

"Oh dear," muttered Mrs. Knight holding her head. "I don't think I can take this."

She interrupted what Mr. Simmons was doing with Kendall and said, "James, Carlos, and Logan got hypnotized by you too. You need to cure them."

Mr. Simmons released a sigh and turning to her asked, "Are you willing to pay?"

"Pay? How much?" she asked.

"Five Thousand per boy," said Mr. Simmons.

"Five thousand dollars a boy!" exclaimed Mrs. Knight. "That's robbery."

"Well then. I take that to mean you aren't willing to pay the price," said Mr. Simmons.

With that, he dropped the watch back in his brown bag and stood up from the chair.

"No, don't leave!" exclaimed Mrs. Knight as Mr. Simmons walked toward the door.

"If you aren't willing to pay for my services, there isn't anything else I can do for you. I do not do charity work. Now good day!"

"Simmons-"

Dr. Fitz was cut off by Mr. Simmons slamming the door of apartment 2J shut behind him.

"Well," said Dr. Fitz. "You may as well look on the bright side."

"What bright side?" asked Mrs. Knight.

"Right now the "spell" that Mr. Simmons has left Kendall under will temporarily stop his multiple personality problem. However it might make it so this Kendall is permanent..."

"So it's not a bright side," moaned Mrs. Knight hanging her head. "Now all four boys think they are someone they aren't. What am I going to do?"

"Until Mr. Simmons comes around, or until we come up with the money to give him, there is nothing that we can do I'm afraid," said Dr. Fitz.

Mrs. Knight watched the four boys in fear. How was this problem going to be fixed?


	13. Doing Their Jobs

Chapter 13

"Five thousand dollars a boy?!" exclaimed Gustavo, gripping the edges of his desk anxiously.

Kelly stood beside Gustavo, a clipboard balanced against her hip. Mrs. Knight and Katie sat in front of Gustavo's desk in his uncomfortable maroon office chairs. They had just finished explaining the situation to Gustavo and they were expecting this kind of reaction.

"Who does this guy think he is?!" demanded Gustavo in rage, rising from his seat. He turned to Kelly as if he expected her to have the answer to his question.

"How am I suppose to know?" asked Kelly. "Aren't the hypnotist types always weird anyway?"

"Yes," replied Gustavo. "And especially in Hollywood." Gustavo stared off into space before commenting with wide eyes, "I've seen horror movies that start exactly like this!"

That got Mrs. Knight worried all over again. Katie glared at Gustavo, who was still staring off into space, and said, "You're not making the situation better!"

Gustavo snapped out of his trance and turned his gaze on Katie who sat staring back at him with her arms crossed across her chest.

"Well it's true!" stated Gustavo. "And I'm freaking out because I don't know what to do!"

"Can't you just give us the money so we can pay the hypnotist to fix the boys?" asked Katie. "That is what we were hoping you'd do when we came here and told you what happened." Katie could see Gustavo bite his lower lip in panic and asked, "You do care about the boys don't you?"

"Yes I care about the boys and I would fork the money over for them in an instant," said Gustavo to Katie. "It's just that Griffin has cracked down on the money issue again. I'm not allowed to spend more than the amount I'm allotted each month."

"And how much money is that?" asked Katie.

"Thirty thousand dollars," said Gustavo.

"Great! Than that's plenty of money to pay the hypnotist and you would still have some money left over!" exclaimed Katie.

Gustavo looked down at his feet while Kelly's eyes wandered around the room.

"Wait," said Katie. "You spent all of that money already didn't you?"

"Yes," muttered Gustavo.

"On what?!" asked Katie.

"This," said Kelly turning around and picking up a cell phone off Gustavo's desk, answering Katie's question for him.

"Is that a SmartPhone 8?" asked Katie in disbelief.

"What? It's the newest phone and I have to stay caught up on technology in order to promote the dogs better," said Gustavo as he possesively grabbed the phone out of Kelly's grasp.

"Uh huh," said Katie, totally unconvinced.

"What are we going to do about my boys?" whimpered Mrs. Knight.

All three of them turned to face her, feeling horrible for their arguing.

"Now Mrs. Knight, don't worry," said Kelly in a calming voice. "We'll figure something out."

"But what? My boys aren't who they are suppose to be."

"I don't know, but we _will _think of something. I promise," assured Kelly.

"If only the boys were who they were suppose to be," muttered Gustavo as he took a seat at his desk again, "Then I would tell them to figure out a way to come up with the money for their mess."

"You mean like the time you made them all get jobs?" asked Katie.

"Yes," said Gustavo, "But I don't see that happening. They already have acting/music jobs as their other self."

"That's it!" exclaimed Katie as she rose from her seat.

"What?" asked Gustavo, Kelly, and Mrs. Knight, all waiting for her answer in anticipation.

"You said if the boys were themselves you'd make them get jobs to earn the money," said Katie.

"Yes," said Gustavo.

"And you also said that their other selves think that they already have jobs," said Katie.

"Yes," said Gustavo. "Would you spit out your idea already?"

"What if we made the boys work?" asked Katie with a sly smile. "What if we made the boys do their 'jobs'?"

* * *

"What's taking so long?" asked James as he looked at the sound booth they were trapped in at the moment.

"I don't know," grumbled Carlos who had a cell phone in his hands and was trying to get good reception. "I'm still trying to reach Alexa's cell! Stupid reception!"

Kendall was seated on the floor, slumped against the wall. They had been waiting in this booth for what felt like an eternity. They were told to stay here until they started filming again. They were getting very tired of waiting.

"Carlos! Chill out! I'm sure Alexa isn't expecting you to call every five minutes," assured Logan who had his hands pressed against the soundproof glass.

Just as they were all about to think of a way out of the locked sound booth to go home, Gustavo, Katie, Kelly, and Mrs. Knight appeared; overly happy smiles pasted onto their faces. They unlocked the door of the sound booth and opened it. Gustavo and Kelly poked their heads inside.

"Guess what boys? The studio has a big day planned for you!" said Gustavo.

"Yea! First you are going to film a parody and then you are going to do a charity concert to benefit people suffering from identity crises," said Kelly.

"Wait, why weren't we informed of this by the studio?" asked Kendall, eyebrow raised.

_"Even as another Kendall, he's still the brains," _thought Gustavo as he said, "They are too busy setting everything up."

"Uh huh," said Kendall, still not a hundred percent convinced.

"Well what do you say? You ready?" asked Katie trying to pep up the four disheartened boys in front of her.

"Yea," they all said at the same time, ready to tackle the strange day that awaited them.


	14. Too Far

**AN: Sorry the update took so long. I struggled with this chapter a bit. I hope you guys all enjoy it though and I look forward to hearing reviews from you! Thank you for all the support! :D**

* * *

Chapter 14

"You can't be serious?" said Kendall raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

"We're perfectly serious!" stated Gustavo. "This is a great idea! You dogs don't get to argue!"

"Why are you staying in character still?" asked Logan looking at Gustavo in confusion. "The cameras aren't rolling yet."

"I'M NOT IN CHA-"

"What Gustavo was going to say is that he is just preparing himself," said Kelly as she clamped one of her hands over his mouth before he could spit out what he was about to say.

Gustavo looked enraged and they could all tell, so they dropped the matter.

"So, let me get this straight. You want us to sing these lyrics?" asked Kendall as he tried to make everything make sense in his head, shaking the lyric sheet in his hands.

"Yes," said Gustavo.

"Ok, but you do realize that this will make us seem like we're deranged?" asked Kendall.

"What do you mean?" asked Gustavo, insulted that Kendall was making fun of his parody writing skills.

"Hm, let me just read you an excerpt," said Kendall as he cleared his throat and looked at the sheet of paper in his hands.

_"How else can I say it? Yea I'm really demented. I'm insane and it's true. I belong in a zoo. Yea that's right I escaped. Haven't taken my meds today and you think I'm crazy and it's true. I belong in a zoo."_

Katie had to clamp her hand over her mouth. It seemed ten times funnier when Kendall was saying it out loud. James looked appalled and started to read the sheet in his hands.

"This isn't a parody! This is more of a shot in the foot!" exclaimed James. "I'm not singing it! I don't care whether the studio wants it or not! I'm staying firm on this point."

"Dogs, you need to learn to chill," said Gustavo. "It really isn't as bad as you're making it out to be."

Logan, James, and Carlos crossed their arms while Kendall continued to stare at the paper with a look of doubt and curiousity.

"Now, you boys need to put these costumes on," said Kelly as she handed the boys their outfits.

"Straight jackets? Really?" asked Kendall as he took the outfit Kelly gave him.

"Yes, you've got to look like you're crazy," insisted Kelly.

"Even if they already _are_ crazy," muttered Gustavo under his breath.

Kelly elbowed him in the ribs and Gustavo winced in momentary pain.

"How do you even get this thing on?" asked Carlos as he examined every inch of it.

"We are _not_ putting these on and that is final," said Kendall, throwing his straight jacket onto the floor. "If you want us to make a parody, let _us_ have some control of it."

"But that's not what the studio-"

"I don't care what anyone else wants. This is what _we_ want. And if you don't give us what we want, we're walking," said Kendall crossing his arms

"You don't mean..."

"Yes, we'll go on strike," said Kendall, "because this is a violation of our rights."

Panic made itself present on Katie's face. Maybe this wasn't one of her brighter plans. Kendall Schmidt was just as passionate and brainy as Kendall Knight.

Would make sense since they are the same person.

"You already went on strike once and that didn't work," said Gustavo with a smug smile.

"On the show. Not in real life," said Kendall. "And this time we don't have to follow a script. We can strike for as long as we want."

"But the studio-"

"It's not going to be the studio's fault, now is it? When they ask us, 'why are you guys on strike?', what do you think I'm going to tell them?" asked Kendall.

"That Gustavo is awesome and he loves you dogs?" asked Kelly trying to soothe Kendall.

"Nope. I'm going to tell them the truth," said Kendall.

"Yep. Kendall's right Kelly. He'll have to tell them the truth," said Gustavo.

"What?" asked Kendall and Kelly confused, both turning to look at him.

"He'll have to tell them I'm not awesome, but that I'm AMAZING!" said Gustavo with a huge smile.

Kendall threw his hands up into the air in frustration.

"That's it! I'm going on strike!" declared Kendall.

Kendall turned to face James, Carlos, and Logan who had all attempted to put on the straight jackets but had failed.

"Are you guys in?" asked Kendall.

"Yes," said Logan just then realizing how ridiculous he looked.

Logan shrugged out of the straight jacket and it landed on the floor.

"Come on James and Carlos. You've got to be thinking that this is just a bit of an overkill," said Kendall.

"Yea, you're right," said James and Carlos at the same time.

Together the four boys walked out of the door; away from the straight jackets and lyric sheets littered across the floor. Gustavo stared down at the floor with his jaw dropped. This was _not _how he was expecting things to go.

"So what do we do now?" asked Kelly after a couple of minutes of awkward silence.

"I have an idea," piped up Katie.

"Oh yea," said Gustavo wheeling on Katie. "You had an idea last time and look how it turned out!"

"Okay, but everyone makes mistakes! Don't harp on me! Besides, I bet you don't have a plan," said Katie.

Gustavo remained quiet; training his eyes on the floor.

"See? I thought so," said Katie. "Now do you want to hear my plan or not?"

"Fine," sighed Gustavo.

"I may not know these four guys, but I do know their other halves. I think I might know how to tempt their inner selves enough to snap them out of the hypnosis," said Katie.

Gustavo and Kelly looked a bit doubtful. Katie gave them a smile of assurance.

"Trust me on this one. They won't see it coming."


End file.
